title: Investigation of the antifungal activity and mechanism of action of LMWS-chitosan.
abstract: Chitosan, a cationic polysaccharide, has been widely used as a dietary supplement and in a variety of pharmacological and biomedical applications. The antifungal activity and mechanism of action of low molecular weight water-soluble chitosan (LMWS-chitosan) were studied in fungal cells and vesicles containing various compositions of fungal lipids. LMWS-chitosan showed strong antifungal activity against various pathogenic yeasts and hyphae-forming fungi but no hemolytic activity or cytotoxicity against mammalian cells. The degree of calcein leakage was assessed on the basis of lipid composition (PC/CH; 10:1, w/w). Our result showing that LMWS-chitosan interacts with liposomes demonstrated that chitosan induces leakage from zwitterionic lipid vesicles. Confocal microscopy revealed that LMWS-chitosan was located in the plasma membrane. Finally, scanning electron microscopy revealed that LMWS-chitosan causes significant morphological changes on fungal surfaces. Its potent antibiotic activity suggests that LMWS-chitosan is an excellent candidate as a lead compound for the development of novel anti-infective agents.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Proteineous Materials (RCPM), Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, Korea.
authors.forename: Yoonkyung
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Mi-Hyun
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seong-Cheol
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Hyeonsook
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cheong
authors.forename: Mi-Kyeong
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Jae-Woon
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Nah
authors.forename: Kyung-Soo
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Hahm
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D005658:Fungi / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D053878:Hemolytic Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D008970:Molecular Weight
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D053878:Hemolytic Agents; D048271:Chitosan